Luxury SUV can be docile or aggressive

By Kevin Mio Jim Leggett, The Gazette

Originally published: February 1, 2011

When a police officer stops to question you while driving a vehicle that tops $100,000 and packs 500 horsepower under the hood, it’s usually not a good sign.

Thankfully for me, all the Montreal police officer wanted to do was talk about the redesigned 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo I was driving.

He asked how I liked the car, saying that he had a chance to drive one previously and loved it.

But it was his parting shot that I loved even more.

“I can drive it fast,” he said, “but you can’t.”

Indeed, I never really got a chance to let the 500 horses under the sculpted hood loose on the road, but that didn’t really take away from my week with the Cayenne.

Just before I picked it up, Porsche announced it was reducing prices on all of its vehicles because of the strength of the Canadian dollar. That saw the base price drop from $123,900 to $118,700. At the same time, Porsche also reduced the cost of some options.

One of the nicest of those options in my Turbo tester is the Burmester high-end surround sound system, which is music to one’s ears, but will add $4,560 to the bottom line.

The nice 21-inch 911 Turbo wheels add another $4,530 and the power sunroof for $1,360.

With a few other smaller options added, the tester came to $128,925 before freight charges and taxes. That is down from the $140,210 price tag before the reductions announced by Porsche.

Design:

The Cayenne underwent some fairly significant changes for the 2011 model year, incorporating some features from the Panamera.

The front end gets a new power dome -which is more pronounced on the turbo model I tested than in other models like the Cayenne S -a new front grille, Panamerainspired headlights and new fenders.

The package comes together nicely and is an improvement over the previous generation Cayenne, which was heavily criticized in some circles.

At the back, the shapely rear has large wraparound tail lights and large quad chrome-tipped exhausts in the Turbo, up from the dual exhausts in the Cayenne S.

The interior also went through an extensive rework and the Panamera’s influence is even more pronounced in the cabin.

The biggest example of that is the dash and centre console. The console is raised higher between the two front seats and the buttons for the suspension and drive settings surround the shifter.

Thankfully, Porschedesigners also simplified the steering-wheel-mounted controls, making for a cleaner look and also improving functionality.

And Porsche now includes Bluetooth hands-free calling and USB integration as standard features, something that was an extra previously.

Performance:

The aforementioned 500 horsepower comes from a sweet-sounding 4.8-litre turbocharged V-8 that also delivers 516 foot-pounds of torque.

That power is put to the pavement through a smooth eight-speed tiptronic transmission that does its job so well that you barely notice when it changes gears.

With a zero-to-100-kilo-metres-per-hour time of 4.7 seconds, the transmission has no choice but to be efficient.

I didn’t really test the tiptronic feature of the gearbox, mainly because I am not a fan of such systems and prefer to let the computer do the job far better than I could.

Transport Canada says the Cayenne Turbo consumes 14.3 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and 9.3 L/100 km on the highway. During my test of the Cayenne Turbo, I averaged 14.0 L/100 km.

Driving/utility:

With a suspension that can be adjusted depending on what type of driving you are doing -comfort, normal or sport -as well as a manually adjustable drive height and the ability to lock the centre and rear differentials, the Cayenne Turbo can handle just about any type of driving.

Thanks to the redesign, which saw the Cayenne enlarged, there is more room for passengers in the rear seat helped by the fact the rear bench also slides forward or back as needed. There is 24 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats, up from 19 in the previous model, and if you fold the seats flat, there is 63 cubic feet of cargo space available. Accessing that cargo is easy thanks to the power-operated lift gate.

While some people still decry the fact Porsche is building a sport-utility vehicle, there is no denying the fact that the Cayenne Turbo would be much more at home on a race track that on one of Montreal’s highways, where traffic and potholes make it impossible to enjoy what 500 horsepower can accomplish.

Porsche has unleashed the first two models of its second generation Cayenne. This SUV doesn’t mess around. As the Porsche.cawebsite so simply states: “To the point.” And you can get to whatever point on the navigation system you want in very quick order in any type of weather.

The 2011 Cayenne Turbo is quite subtle in its styling considering the ferocious power that lurks under its gentle sculpted hood.

This vehicle is all about power and yet it is power with great control. The vehicle can be as docile as a pussycat or as aggressive as a panther.

The Cayenne model line was introduced in 2002 with a skeptical raised eyebrow from journalists and enthusiasts alike.

An SUV just did not seem to follow the Porsche philosophy of speed and handling from lightweight engineering and maximum performance from relatively small-displacement motors. This was the company that had developed the Type 917 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, perhaps the epitome of brute power and lightweight engineering in the history of motorsports. Was Porsche about to abandon their heritage and jump the shark?

It was quickly apparent that rather than Porsche lowering its standards to the level of existing SUVs, they raised the standards to their customary level of design and performance. This second-generation Cayenne continues that evolution by increasing powertrain performance, reducing weight and adding some eco-friendly technology.

Design

Porsche has always been renowned for an exceptional attention to design that few manufacturers achieve. From the iconic 356 to the enduring 911 types, design is at the heart of these cars. Fluid lines that follow function rather than whim and minimal decoration are their hallmark and the Cayenne stays true to this mantra.

Thefrontendbearsastrong family resemblance to the 911 with the addition of two gaping air intakes framing a large central grille. It’s quite apparent that the Cayenne Turbo utilizes a lot of airflow to make horsepower.

The headlights are complex Bi-Xenon units that provide uniform illumination of the road. The system features automatic dynamic range control, auxiliary halogen high beams and integrated headlight washers.

The dynamic cornering light function swivels the headlights toward the inside of a corner, based on the current steering angle and road speed. LED daytime running lights below the headlights add a nice touch of detail.

The all-steel, lightweight monocoque body shell follows the expected SUV practices with softly sculpted doors and large LED tail lights. The electrically powered rear tailgate has a nice spoiler on the trailing edge. Even with the optional wheel arch extensions on the Turbo, the overall exterior styling is taut and sleek with no gaudy add-ons.

Performance

This is where the Cayenne Turbo excels and accelerates. Performance can be described by the usual quotation of numbers… 4.8L V-8 engine, twin turbochargers, compression ratio of 10.5:1, 500 horsepower at 6,000 r.p.m., 516 foot-pounds of torque at 2,250 -4,500 r.p.m., maximum redline of 6,700 r.p.m., eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission, and 0-96 km/h in 4.4 seconds. But what does this gearhead-speak really mean to you as a driver?

The Turbo’s horsepower is the same as the first generation, but you will be able to get better fuel mileage if you can control the urge to plant your right foot at every stoplight. The enormous amount of torque (the force that pushes you back in your seat) not only comes into play at a low r.p.m., it holds a steady plateau for the next 2,250 r.p.m., an amazing feat for a turbocharged engine. This gives the Cayenne a responsive pick-up in speed in most driving situations. The motor shuts down at stoplights, saving on fuel consumption.

The next piece of the puzzle is the eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission which seamlessly keeps the Cayenne in the optimal gear, again resulting in your choice of performance or economy. For the sporty driver, try using the nicely machined aluminum paddle shifters located on the well padded steering wheel.

The third part of the powertrain equation is very complex but nearly invisible. The Porsche Active Suspension plus the front, centre and rear differentials work in concert to give a safe and stable platform for all that horsepower and torque. The fully independent double-wishbone front suspension has spring struts with air springs and inner-mounted, hydraulic twin-sleeve gas pressure dampers. The rear end has much the same except that it is a multilink setup. All four corners are equipped with air suspensionwithself-levelling and height adjustment, infinite damper adjustment and three Porsche Active Suspension Management control maps for Comfort, Normal and Sport.

Driving/Utility

The Cayenne Turbo is truly acivilizedbeastwithloftyperformance levels for those who wish to take it to its limits on a country road, yet it can be very docile in urban traffic on the Champlain Bridge.

The interior is best described as an earthbound executive jet’s cockpit. The dash is a sweep of five traditional Porsche gauges for the driver flanked on the right by a cascading console with a lot of switchgear.

Take the time to acquaint yourself with these controls. Here you can control the dynamic handling settings, air suspension ride height and engine management to give you a safer and sportier experience. The touch-screen infotainment interface is at the centre and displays navigation and sound system.

The Turbo had the optional High-End Surround Sound System from Burmester ($4,560 option) which pumps out over 1,000 watts through sixteen speakers.

The well-bolstered 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats are covered in leather and seem to guarantee comfort and support for everybody. Alcantara covers the pillars and headliner enveloping the occupants in comfort and luxury.

Although the Cayenne can feel large in the city, when you get onto the open road it simply blooms. My wife and I spent a snowy day driving along the western shore of the Richelieu River on Route 223, and the Cayenne Turbo never put a foot wrong. The roads were snow-covered with occasional drifts and the traction controls kept things safe and civilized even at speeds slightly over the posted limits. The steering provided good feedback and the brakes were confidence-inspiring. The HVAC system kept our feet warm and the windows clear with a minimum of fuss.

The 2011 Cayenne Turbo delivers style, design and performance like no other SUV.